This page describes the Terms of Use for The Trombone Forum, along with some guidelines for posting. Additional information may be found in the TTF FAQ.
The Forum has a few rules by which we all agree to abide. These simple rules should in no way inhibit your ability to communicate any idea you wish, but do ensure a safe and positive environment for everyone here.
Accounts
- [li]Requirements
We reserve the right to remove any account for any reason. Accounts must have:- [li]A valid email address. From time to time, it may be necessary to contact a member concerning the Forum in general, or their posts specifically. Accounts with invalid email addresses will be deleted. Please keep your email address current.[/li][li]A screen name that is not offensive or derogatory.[/li][li]If there is a web site link, it must refer to an appropriate web site. It must not be an "adult" web site, nor can it be in the business of selling or marketing pharmacological products, mortgage loans, or any other such common SPAM-like products or services. Having such a link will result in the immediate deletion of your account. Internet users have to put up with quite enough of this kind of material in our mailboxes; we will not be subjected to it here. All common "misspellings" are also taken into account (e.g., ci-@-lis, mor[t]gage, etc.)[/li][li]A screen name that is not the name of a public figure. Unless that is the members actual name![/li]
[/li][li]Karma
The Trombone Forum Staff reserve the right to refuse membership or access to the Forum to anyone, at any time, for any reason. We do, however, have a system in place that should help users be aware of the perception of their actions and thus be able to change their behavior.
There is a score called "karma" that is visible in your profile. Staff members will occasionally add positive points ("applaud") and negative points ("smite") based on post content, with negative points generally being given for violation of the Terms of Use. Users who accumulate a large number of negative points or a large deficit (shown by a negative total number of points) will be warned, then suspended, then permanently banned if the inappropriate behavior is not stopped.
[/li][li]Deletion of old unused accounts
The Forum Staff try to keep the Forum user list reliable. To that end, accounts that have not been used in a long time (two or more years) may be deleted.
[/li][li]Anonymity
We understand that some members have valid reasons for hiding their identities in the Forum. While we may require that members reveal their identity to the Staff, we do not require that they reveal their identity to the membership. Accordingly, we ask that other members do not "unmask" those who wish to remain anonymous, and that they do not ask those members to reveal themselves.[/li]
The following guidelines are provided to help maintain a pleasant conversational and educational site for all users.
- [li]Write properly
This is a worldwide public forum. Many people may read it, including those whose native language is not English. In order to facilitate communication, please:- [li]Think about what you are writing. It is not necessary to enter a post immediately.[/li][li]Use paragraphs, correct punctuation and normal words, rather than 733t or instant messaging abbreviations.[/li][li]Use the spell-check function in the Forum software.[/li]
We expect users to behave respectfully towards each other. There will be disagreements about many subjects, include some strong disagreements, but we expect members to be able to discuss these subjects in a polite and civil manner.
Members who show a pattern of obnoxious and disrespectful behavior may have their access to the Forum suspended or terminated.
[/li][li]Don't use profanity
The Forum has an automatic filter that will replace certain words and phrases considered impolite with asterisks (*). Since we can't catch every word and it is relatively easy to circumvent the auto-filter (perhaps by substituting characters, such as respelling "poop" as "p@@p"), we ask everyone to respect our wishes to keep the Forum "family friendly."
The Staff will, without notice, remove or edit any posts containing profanity.
[/li][li]Keep it friendly
Personal attacks are not welcome here. We encourage healthy debate, but please discuss the issues and refrain from creating posts regarding a TTF member, or other non-public figure, that are knowingly false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, harassing, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise in violation of any law.
Derogatory comments directed towards specific ethnic and religious groups are not permitted under our Terms of Use and will be deleted without notice. Posts that promote or perpetuate negative racial, sexual and cultural stereotypes are frowned upon and may also be deleted.
The Staff will, without notice, remove or edit any post which is considered inappropriate within these guidelines.
The music community is a very small world. From time to time, members may vigorously discuss and criticize well-known musicians. Please be aware, however, that many of the famous players discussed here visit the site regularly and, in any case, posts about a given player have a curious tendency to find their way back to that player.
A good rule of thumb is: don't post anything about anyone that you would not say directly to their face. In other words, be nice!
[/li][li]Dont abuse the staff
Forum Staff are volunteers who devote their time and energy to maintaining the site and trying to keep things running smoothly. If you have questions about staff actions, please contact the staff member or another staff member privately, or send mail to the Forum director at [url=mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]. Dont sidetrack a discussion just to ask why a moderator asked you to stay on topic!
[/li][li]Remain on topic
The Staff have gone to great lengths to make it easy to find the conversations in which you are interested, through the organization of posts into topic-oriented "boards", or sections. Within a topic, please keep your posts relevant to the specific questions and comments posted earlier. Topics do tend to develop and move in unexpected directions, but if they get too far off the subject, we encourage you to start a new topic in the appropriate section.
If a topic is posted in an inappropriate section, a staff member will move it to the most relevant section, where it may receive more attention. Off-topic posts may also be moved to another section, or edited for off-topic comments.
[/li][li]Follow copyright law
TTF respects the legal and ethical rights of copyright owners. Please do not make posts that deal with bootleg recordings, music, texts or any other items. A staff member will remove such posts or topics without notice.
We also ask that you refrain from posting any copyrighted materials in the Forum, including copying and posting other complete internet resources, such as articles, in your posts. Instead, please quote the relevant passage from the internet article and include the address for the entire source. This satisfies copyright law, Forum viewers can check out the entire resource, and the copyright owners get increased traffic to their site - everyone's a winner!
Please also bear in mind that setting up remote links to files such as images, movies, sound files, and PDF files may be considered bandwidth theft by the owners of that file. Instead of setting up a direct link on the Forum, please direct readers to the page where they can access the file you wish to share. If you are the copyright owner and/or owner of that server space, you may remote-link all you want.
[/li][li]Post editing and deleting
Posts may be edited by the poster for a period of up to four days after posting. Please note that, since the content is never actually fixed in a medium, the poster therefore holds no copyright on the material. Neither does The Trombone Forum need a license to use/host the content in the post. All posts are therefore public domain content.
Posts may NOT be deleted, except by TTF Staff. You may, of course, edit it down to almost nothing, although excepting a post that was a thermonuclear tirade which was obviously offensive when you read it later, this is discouraged. Any post which was that bizarre in the first place would have been either edited or deleted by a moderator, anyway. Please note that even if you edit your original post down to almost nothing, this will not affect the inclusion of the original as quoted material in subsequent replies by other members of the Forum.
[/li][li]Advertising
Please restrict explicit advertising to the Marketplace section.
If you have an advertisement you wish to post, be it for an instrument, accessory, store or musical work, we ask that you post it in the Advertisements section. If you wish to post a notice of a job opening, a music-related event or concert announcement, please post it in the Notices section.
We expect people to want to mention good products they have found. We expect people to want to mention particularly good (or bad!) experiences they have had with various vendors. We ask that people tie such commentary to their own experiences and not to turn their reports into generalized recommendations that must apply to everybody.
We ask that people avoid turning the bulk of their Forum participation into a string of effusive praise for a vendor, manufacturer or product, whether or not they are a vendor. Such behavior is, in any event, likely to be counterproductive.
We ask that people making replies to questions avoid recommending unrelated products. If someone has asked about a mouthpiece, recommend a mouthpiece; if someone has asked about high range exercises, do not promote your mouthpiece or offer your services as a teacher.
What is considered advertising?
Some guidelines for what is considered advertising:- [li]Posts for the sole purpose of promoting a product or service you sell or represent for compensation. (Posts making the community aware of the existence of products and services, and which are clearly starting points for discussion and questions about the product or service, are not considered explicit advertising.)[/li][li]Posts announcing products that are obviously inducements to buy from a particular vendor; for example, prominently mentioning exclusivity rights, or statements intimating that prices from this vendor are the best, or otherwise indicating that the product cannot or should not be obtained anywhere else.[/li]
[/li][li]Be positive
Internet communications are sometimes difficult to decipher, and a message which may have been written without any malice can come across as malicious. It is best to assume that the member has posted with positive intentions. Ask a question aimed at clarifying the point of the message in question, avoiding judgments about the person who posted it.
Some examples:- [li]You wrote, "My teacher doesn't know what she's talking about. I'm supposed to do this exercise that I can't do, and every week she asks me to do it again." Have you asked your teacher why she asked you to do the exercise? Or, have you told her that you are having difficulty doing the exercise, or what part of it is giving you a problem?[/li][li]You wrote, "Jupiter trombones are the worst." I'm curious which ones you may have tried and what you found sub-standard about them.[/li]
[/li][li]Reporting inappropriate posts
While the Forum Staff do their best to eliminate offensive and abusive messages pertaining to a TTF member or other non-public figure, it would be impossible to read, immediately, every message posted in the Forum. If you find a post that falls into the category of "knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law", then please use the "report post" button, or send an email or private message directly to the moderator of that section, and they will respond as soon as possible.[/li]
- [li]No warranty on advice
Please be aware that the Forum does not warranty any of the recommendations or advice provided in this forum.
There are many professionals and experienced amateurs participating in the Forum. There are also many other people whose experiences and knowledge may be helpful. Often, their advice and recommendations are sound. Sometimes, due to problems such as lack of experience with the particular situation, difficulty in communicating details or biases on the part of the responder, the advice may not be appropriate. We ask all members to evaluate any suggestions provided, be it for products, music, practice methods, playing techniques or anything else, and use their own good sense in deciding which advice to follow.
[/li][li]Opinions are those of the writers
The opinions expressed on The Trombone Forum reflect solely the opinions of the participants and not of The Trombone Forum itself. The Moderators, Administrators and Director of The Trombone Forum are Forum members who have volunteered to fulfill these necessary positions. Forum Staff do not relinquish their membership when they agree to serve on staff and they may still participate in threads. Therefore, as with all the opinions posted on TTF, any opinions expressed by staff members which are not pursuant to the moderation of the site reflect only their own views and not that of The Trombone Forum.
It is the responsibility of staff members to keep the job of policing the posts of Forum members separate from their own participation on the site. If you feel that any staff member has failed to enforce the Terms of Use, please contact us via [url=mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url]. Include full details, including the precise location of the offending post (a link is helpful), and the Forum Director will review the content.
[/li][li]Strong opinions may be expressed
We expect, in all discussions, including those over controversial subject matter, that people will engage in polite debate and treat each other respectfully. However, threads that veer from intelligent discourse with facts and reasoned discussion into rants and diatribes will be locked or removed.
Posts in the Forum Practice Break area are not confined to the subjects of the trombone or music, and thus may contain criticisms (sometimes harsh) of public figures, political parties, governments and even religions. We recognize that people may sometimes post messages or make statements that are misleading, deceptive or downright wrong. They may do so unintentionally or even intentionally. Unless these posts violate the rights of a non-public individual or violate any law, they are permitted. If you believe you may be offended by biting criticisms of public figures or groups, you should avoid entering the Practice Break area.
[/li][li]This is a private forum
The Staff reserve the right to deem any post inappropriate, for any reason whatsoever. This is a privately-maintained forum, subject only to its own rules and the decisions of the Staff, not to concepts derived from the first amendment of the US Constitution.[/li]
Thank you for your attention, and please enjoy The Trombone Forum!
Sincerely,
The Trombone Forum Staff